Reality Check
by misskiana
Summary: A retelling of Dreamland in Rogerson's view. What was he thinking? A mix of his past, the present, and a bit of the future...Please just give it a chance!
1. Peyton

**Hi! Yeah, well I'm new to this section of Fanfiction because I mainly read Twilight, DOTM, and LWD fanfics but I've read and loved every one of Sarah Dessen's books and I decided I should write my own. Besides…no one wrote a fanfic about my favorite. Well one of my favorites…Dreamland. I loved that book! I don't know about you but yeah…Well, please at least give this a chance! I'm begging you…please!**

**Disclaimer: The amazing Sarah Dessen owns all of these wonderful characters, I am just using them for my own amusement as well as those of fanfiction readers…**

!Rogerson Biscoe Junior!

My brother Peyton left for college three weeks after my eighteenth birthday. He was one year older than me and was the "perfect" son. He was smart, a great athlete; just perfect. I was always the one who screwed up time and again with school and drugs and just life in general.

My father never stopped reminding me what a failure I was either. He'd always been an abusive father, but I've always had more beatings than my brother. Sometimes mom tried to stick up for me but that has been happening less and less recently.

The point is that my brother Peyton left me alone with dad, alone at home, and alone in the world.

Peyton and I weren't ever that close despite how close we are in age. I guess we're just too different. However, he taught me so many things like how to drive, how to fix my car, where to find the cheapest drugs, stuff like that…I was always jealous of him for one reason or another. I wished I was dad's favorite so I'd get less beatings of I could have less of a temper like my brother so I wouldn't be in high school anymore. I envied him two things most as we got older though. First it was how he seemed to know what he wanted in life. And second, all of his girlfriends. Peyton had a long history with girls. I guess it came with his jock status or something. Of course I'd had my share of girlfriends too but they were only amusing for a little while. My longest relationship lasted for almost a month, I think, but I'd spent more time without her than with her while we were going out. Peyton was currently engaged to a girl, Sarah, who he had been seeing since the beginning of his senior year.

Generally my girls were druggies that I'd met either through Peyton or during one of my many "jobs". It wasn't difficult for me to make friends but to find a girl who could keep me interested…That was hard. I still hadn't found her…

**Oh please tell me you like it. I'm doing a rewrite of Dreamland in Rogerson's point of view. You know you're curious about what he was thinking as he did that to Caitlyn. I am too…review please! They give me reason to keep going ).**


	2. Attraction

**Hey! Well…since I got a few reviews, I'm going to update. I don't want to keep you waiting…**

**Thanks to all of you for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: The amazing Sarah Dessen owns this, I am only using this for my own entertainment as well as those of her fans. **

!Rogerson! 

_A/N: This story is pretty much only in Rogerson Junior's point of view so…yeah…just know it's not his dad._

The morning that Peyton announced that he was leaving for college was two weeks before he was supposed to leave. I woke up to my mother's voice almost yelling, "My baby, I can't believe how much you've grown! Are you sure you have to go?" She said this again and again. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I moved to the kitchen where they were.

Peyton saw me first and came over to me and said, "Be good, man". He was only half-joking. I raised an eyebrow as if to say "Who, me?". He just laughed and went to hug mom one last time.

"I'll call, Mom, don't worry," he said, "and tell dad I'll see him for Thanksgiving." We all hear the sound of a horn being so we watch him leave for college with Sarah. Dad was golfing at the country club like every morning.

I took this opportunity to enjoy my breakfast and got dressed quickly to avoid any possible confrontations with Dad. Today was my first day of school at Perkins Day as a fifth-year senior. I took a year off because of some administration and drug-related problems. Basically, I beat up a teacher once and they found part of my stash of Pot and I have to be arrested by the police. I guess they didn't find that too funny but this was nothing unusual for me. By some miracle…and a generous donation of money, my mom, Bobbi Biscoe, talked the school into letting me come back.

I really didn't give a shit about school but it was a big improvement to being home and anywhere away from my father had to be half-good at least in my opinion.

I went through the day without paying much attention to anyone or anything and before I knew it, school was over and it was time to get down to business. I headed to my car and began to make my rounds. I had about twelve stops today…

After my eleventh stop, it was dark outside and my car was in desperate need of a car wash. Damn trailer park! Since it was so late, I was the only one here aside from a car parked all the way on the other side. Quickly, I scrubbed my car and rinsed it. Shit! My car needed a wax…I checked my pockets for change. Yes…I had a ten but I needed change. The freaking machine only took ones and fives. I was trying to figure out what to do when I saw this girl walking away from the change machine. I took this opportunity to study her.

She was wearing a cheerleading uniform but you could tell there's something different about her… She wasn't…as into it as most cheerleaders were. She definitely wasn't like Krista and her squad at Perkins Day. She had a sort of attitude about her. I liked her…I really liked her…

When I realized that she was almost gone, I called out to her, "Hey!" She took a few steps and looked surprised that I was right there. I found myself staring but I was unable to stop…she was beautiful. _Rogerson…get a handle on yourself…she's staring at me…well you did call her name…say something…_

"You got change for a ten?" I asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Uh, no," she said. "I don't think so." _God…everything about her attracted me…even her voice. _

I took this opportunity to check her out since we were so close and she blushed. "Nice outfit," I said. I wasn't joking really…I knew cheerleading wasn't really her thing. Even the tacky cheerleading uniform attracted me. She had a good figure though, curvy but still small. She was hot.

"Oh," she said, looking down. "Yeah, well."

That's when I noticed the bandage on her arm. "What happened to you there?" I asked.

Before she could answer, we heard someone shout, "Caitlin! Where are you?"

Caitlin…I loved that name. "I'm coming," Caitlin called back then said to me, "I fell off a pyramid earlier tonight."

"Ouch," I said and reached out to run a finger across the bandage. I won't lie I did that only so that I could touch her. I wanted so bad to get closer to her. "You okay?" I asked to try to cover up the intense desire I had for her.

"I…I don't know," she said. I know exactly what she meant.

"Caitlin, we're going to miss the whole party—"I heard another girl say behind Caitlin as she came around the corner. She stopped then and I could tell she liked me. She was one of those girls that everyone thinks is hot, well everyone except for me. I liked her but she was nothing compared to Caitlin.

"I'm coming," Caitlin said to the other girl quickly. When she turned around, I was smiling because I noticed the difference between her friend and her. Her friend was really into cheerleading…you could tell just by looking at her but you could tell that she and Caitlin had a history.

"Okay," the other girl said fast, rapidly backing away around the corner.

"I should go," Caitlin said but her voice sounded different. Almost as if she was feeling the attraction that I felt for her. But that was impossible…I'm really subtle about those things. And she couldn't be feeling that attraction for me, right? She was so perfect…

"Sure," I said, nodding. "See ya around, Caitlin." Then I raised my chin, backing up, keeping my eyes on her. I didn't want to take my eyes off of her. I couldn't take my eyes off of her; it was like some invisible force was keeping my eyes on her… _I wonder what she'd look like…Hey there Rogerson, take it easy…don't think like that…_

She stood there staring with her breath clouding around her face as a police car raced by, the siren screaming.

"Wait," she said and I stopped and put my hands in my pockets. "You didn't tell me your name."

"Rogerson," I said, and turned away trying to keep myself under control. I felt her eyes on me the whole time.

A few minutes later, they passed me again. I was hosing down my car one last time since I didn't have the money for a wax. When I looked up, I saw three girls staring at me. Caitlin was in the back with the other girl I saw in the passenger seat. I stared at them and they stared back at me, the two in the front whispering to each other. I didn't care about the two girls in the front though, I only looked at Caitlin. As I watched them pull away, the car disappearing car length by car length, I saw Caitlin turn around in her seat to watch me and I made a promise to myself that I would find her and I would get closer to her. I had finally found my girl.

**Just so you know this is basically a rewrite of Dreamland in Rogerson's view so…yeah. Hope you like it. **


	3. Closer

**Hello…Well, I'm assuming that I have some fans so I will update if only for them. I am not even updating "Dreadful Mistakes" right now...So you guys are lucky.**

**Thank you to all of you who have reviewed so far! Dreamland is like my favorite of all of Sarah Dessen's books so…yeah. This really means a lot to me. Actually it's one of my all-time favorite books. **

**Disclaimer: Like I said, Dreamland is written by Sarah Dessen. I do have one question though…why do I have to keep writing disclaimers if none of you think I am Sarah Dessen and I am not trying to steal the rights to any of her books. Hm…**

**Moving on…**

!Rogerson!

Quickly, I finished rinsing my car and headed off to my last stop for the day. My last…client…was Bill Skerrit, who now that I thought about it probably went to the same school as Caitlin.

_Man, get a hold of yourself…just finish the job then you can go home and think about what to do about her…_I thought, angered that my mind could think of nothing but her.

Since there was no room on the driveway, I was forced to park a ways down from the house. Okay, so it was only the next driveway over, but still…he was supposed to leave a space for me.

Still thinking about Caitlin, because my mind refused the thought of anything else, I trudged up the walkway and into the house. Expertly side-stepping a few too-drunk party guests, I came to the doorway of the dining room. "Hey, Bill," Bill's friend, Jeremy Light, called out. "Someone here to see you." Jeremy had seen me enough times to know why I was there and who I wanted to see. It made everything that much easier.

Bill was sitting on a chair with a girl on his lap. When she turned her head a bit, I realized that it was the girl from the car wash—Caitlin's friend. "Oh, hey, man. Hold on." I barely heard Bill's words because my eyes were already scanning the room for her. She had to be here.

That's when I saw her—sitting rather close to some blonde athlete kind-of-guy. I was contemplating ways to break them up without getting sent back to Juvenile Hall when she did something that surprised me. She pulled herself out from under his arm and said, "I don't know." Most likely she was responding to some question that I didn't hear. "Excuse me," she said, getting up. She walked past me and into the kitchen; my eyes were on her the whole time. Not that anyone noticed of course, like I said, I was _very_ good at being subtle.

Bill led me to the front door where he paid for his pot. "Hey, man, thanks for making this run for me. I really needed it," he said.

"Yeah, no problem," I grumbled.

"You have any more runs to make?" he asked.

"No, you're the last one."

"Well, I better get back there; don't want to miss the party and all…"

"Yeah, sure," I said and he walked off. I put the money that I was still holding in my hand into my pocket and pushed the door open.

I was about to exit when I heard _her_ voice. It's amazing how everything about her attracts me, the way she walks, her eyes, even her voice!

"Nothing," she said. "I was, um, cold."

"Cold?" the blonde guy in near her said, glancing around. God, the guy was a complete idiot. Who was this guy anyway?

"Yeah," she said. "The door's open."

She was looking at me again. In the back of mind, I thought about how I should leave now but her gaze held me there.

"Oh." That was the first word out of the blond idiot's mouth. "Well," he said, "you can have this." With that, he slid off his letter jacket, holding it out for her.

I stood there for a moment, watching the confusion and alarm play out on Caitlin's face. When she didn't make any move to take it, I mouthed to her, "Hey." When I knew that I had caught her attention, I smiled and mouthed, "Come on."

The blonde boy was oblivious to our little conversation; he was still holding out the jacket, shaking it and coming closer. "Here," she said, holding it up so that she could slide right in. He shook it again and said, "Go ahead."

When she turned her attention back to me, I lifted my chin at her, casually, and smiled.

She paused for a second, then said, "I'm sorry," to the blonde guy and walked down the hallway to meet me.

As I led her to my car, I couldn't help grinning. Caitlin could feel the chemistry between us too. My mind replayed the whole incident that had occurred just a moment ago. "So," I said, slightly laughing and casually leaning against my car, "What now?"

She tossed her head and said to me, "Give me a ride home?"

"Okay," I said and I got into the car and unlocked her door.

"Where we going?" I asked her, starting the car. As I reached to shift into reverse, my hand brushed against her knee making me want to be closer to her. To my surprise and delight, instead of pulling away like I thought she would, she moved closer.

"Lakeview," she said and I nodded, reaching forward to turn up the stereo. I let the music calm me and distract me from the beautiful girl sitting inches away from me.

I parked the car in front of one of the houses and cut the engine, then turned and looked at her.

"So," I said evenly. "You regret that yet?" The question had been clawing at me for the entire car ride. Did she realize her mistake? Did she want me to take her back?

"Regret what?" she said.

"Leaving back there," I said. "Looked like somebody had plans for you."

She thought for a moment. "He had plans," she said. "But they weren't really about me."

I nodded and ran my finger along the bottom arc of the steering wheel. "I knew you were trouble," I said in a low voice. "Could tell just by looking at you."

"Me?" she said. "Look who's talking."

I raised my eyebrows. What did she mean? "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know," she said. "You've got the whole thing going…the car, the hair."

"The hair?" I said, reaching up to touch one dreadlock. "What about it?"

"Oh, come on," she said. "You know."

I shook my head, smiling. "Whatever," I said. "Whatever you say." Even though I still had no idea what she was talking about I couldn't help but give in.

I leaned back in my seat, eyes on the dim green glow of the dashboard, thinking about what I wanted to do and trying to figure out if Caitlin felt the same way. She was the most interesting girl I'd ever met.

"Caitlin?" I said, my voice breaking the silence.

"Yes?" she said, but I was already leaning forward, having decided to take my chances. My hand was already brushing back her hair and my lips were on hers. We made out for thirty minutes, getting hotter and hotter. As I struggled to unhook her bra, she came up for air somewhere near my left ear. "What's your last name?" she asked.

"Biscoe," I said, still working the clasp.

"Oh," she said.

Just then a shadow passed over the car and we both froze. It was a man walking his dog. They were about to go right by us. Quickly, I reached down next to her seat and grabbed the reclining lever, and in a split second we dropped quickly together out of sight with a _whump_.

"Rogerson Biscoe," I said, right into her ear, and we continued what we never finished.

At some point, Caitlin said, "I have to go," and buttoned up her shirt so fast she forgot to put on her bra.

"Go where?" I asked, confused. My lips were right on her cheek.

"Home," she said brushing her fingers through her hair. "I have to be in by midnight."

"It's only five after," I said after glancing at the clock. I hope she couldn't hear the intense desire and need that I felt in my voice.

"I know. I'm late."

I leaned in and kissed her again, a good long on, then kept my hand on her knee as I drove up the street, turned around at the pool, and cut back towards her house.

I slowed down in front of her house, idling the engine.

"Well," she said. "I'm going now."

"So you said," I replied as impassively as I could. I didn't want her to leave.

She opened the door and got out, looking out at the house.

"Bye," she said, walking around the front of the car, gazing at me intently. As I waited for her to enter the house, I thought of a million different scenarios where I'd meet her again. I'd find a way. When she was safely inside, I started the car, beeped the horn once, and sped off towards home, planning our next meeting the whole way there.

**I am proud of myself for finally finishing this chapter. ) Hope you like it! Review please!**


	4. AUTHORS NOTE!

**ATTENTION EVERYONE! I'M SOO SOO SOO SOO SORRY BUT I CAN'T UPDATE THIS FOR A WHILE. OKAY, MY REASON IS STUPID BUT…I LOST MY DREAMLAND BOOK! I KNOW, I'M COMPLETELY FREAKING. THAT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS. AS SOON AS I FIND IT THOUGH, I'LL UPDATE LIKE THREE CHAPTERS OKAY? I'M SOO SOO SORRY… I HOPE I FIND IT SOON! **

**XX EMO-DRE**


	5. Another AuthorsNote, so sorry

**Hello Everyone! **

**I know, I know, this is exceptionally cruel writing an author's note like this but please, just listen. **

**Okay, first I would like to apologize. I know you haven't heard from me in quite a while. I am in the process of writing the next few chapters for each of my stories actually and I felt the need to give you an update about that. For further information and news about anything having to do with my fan fics, I created a LiveJournal. Let me know if you have one as well! Oh, you'll find the link on my profile. **

**I truly am sorry and I hope that you will all give me one more chance and continue reading my story. Each and every one of your reviews means a lot to me as well as the fact that you take the time to read this. Expect to hear from me a lot in the very near future seeing as I am lining up quite a lot of chapters and updates for you guys. Making up for lost time, you know. **

**Thanks so much for listening! **

**EmoDre **


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